


Brothers, Keepers

by Kiraly



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Childhood, Gen, Pre-Canon, Trick or Treat 2017, Trick or Treat: Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-22 06:11:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12475220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Five times Bjarni and Reynir get into trouble, and one time they get out of it.





	Brothers, Keepers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unlos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unlos/gifts).



> Trick or treat, Unlos! When I saw these two in your requests, I knew it was time to write some brotherly bonding. I hope you like it!

The first time Bjarni got his baby brother in trouble, Reynir was barely walking.

“You two stay inside,” Mamma said, “I don’t want you getting dirty before dinner. I’m just running to tell Pabbi and the others to come wash up.” She gently unhooked Reynir’s clenched hands from her skirt and transferred them to Bjarni’s sleeve. “Watch your brother, Bjarni. I’ll be right back.”

Bjarni did what she said. He watched Reynir toddle after her, and through the door that hadn’t latched properly. He watched as Reynir’s little legs betrayed him and sent him toppling into a mud puddle. And then he watched Reynir start crying from the bump on his head, which suddenly wasn’t so funny. Especially when Mamma came back.

“Bjarni! I thought I told you to watch him!” The mud on Reynir got on Mamma as she scooped him up to comfort him. 

“But you said not to leave the house!” Bjarni protested. And really, he  _ had  _ watched Reynir.

Bjarni got a scolding anyway, and grumpy looks from the rest of his siblings when their dinner was late. But Reynir was the one who had to have a bath and a change of clothes.

* * *

When Reynir was five, the winter came with enough snow to cover the whole farm in a thin blanket of white. There was ice underneath, and everyone had to be careful not to slip while doing their chores. In a moment when everyone else was busy, Bjarni pulled Reynir aside.

“Come on, let’s have some fun!” He led the way to the ladder Pabbi had left leaning against the house. There was a big pile of straw next to it, and a square of leftover metal siding on the ground. “You go first,” Bjarni said, “I have to bring this.” He hefted the metal. 

Reynir almost fell off the roof as soon as he got onto it. “It’s slippery!” he said, sliding out of the way so Bjarni could join him.

“Exactly!” Bjarni set the flat metal near the peak of the roof and sat on it. “Come on, get in front of me. It’ll go faster with two.”

It  _ did  _ go fast, so fast they flew right over the haystack. It was lucky the compost pile was there to break their fall. Unluckily, Pabbi stepped out of the barn in the middle of their flight, and that was the last time they went sledding off the roof.

* * *

A week after Reynir turned seven, Bjarni convinced him that all of his siblings used to have red hair, and if he shaved his head it would grow back black like theirs. Guðrun caught him just after he chopped a whole chunk of his braid off, and when he explained, she chased Bjarni all around the farm waving a garden hoe. Then she sat Reynir down and showed him the family photo album, making sure to point out all the embarrassing pictures of Bjarni—who had never had red hair, obviously—while Bjarni finished both of their chores. It made things a little easier to bear when Mamma found out and fussed at him for taking the good shears without asking.

Hildur, ever the practical one, asked where Reynir thought Pabbi’s red hair had come from. 

“I don’t know,” Reynir said, “Maybe he never shaved it!” But he knew better than to try and find out. 

* * *

At ten, Reynir hung on Bjarni’s every word when he came back from his first foray with the Navy. It was such a big world out there! So many new sights to see, and it sounded like Bjarni had seen all of them. Reynir went to bed that night with his head full of plans for when he was old enough to leave home too.

The next day at breakfast, Reynir announced his intention of going off to sea like his siblings. “Not until I’m older!” he reassured them, when every face at the table fell. “I’ll be very careful.” Nothing he said seemed to make things better, though. Hildur looked worried, and Bjarni carefully studied the empty chair next to him. Mamma looked close to tears. 

Eventually, Pabbi said, “Bjarni, Hildur, finish eating and go outside for a while. We need to have a talk with your brother.” Then Mamma and Pabbi explained what “immunity” was, and that the two of them didn’t have it and neither did Reynir. Non-immune people couldn’t join the Navy or leave Iceland.

“But...Bjarni and Ólafur and Guðrun…” He couldn’t find a way to ask the question, but their expressions answered it anyway. “Hildur too?” Mamma nodded. “How?”

Then Pabbi explained the Dagrenning program as best he could, and left Reynir to think about it while he and Mamma cleared the table. When Bjarni and Hildur came back inside, Bjarni patted his shoulder. “I’ll write you,” he said, an apology for a hurt he couldn’t fix. “Then at least you can hear about what’s out there, even though you can’t see it.”

* * *

“You can leave if you wanna, though” Bjarni said. “That ban was lifted.” At the time, he thought he was doing Reynir a favor. He was twenty, after all, and old enough to make his own decisions. But in hindsight, that statement would go on record as one of the dumbest things he ever said, if not  _ the  _ dumbest. When he got that news that Reynir had run away, it came with messages from his parents and each of his remaining siblings:  _ What were you thinking, telling him that? _

He felt even worse when they found out  _ where  _ Reynir had run off to. The Silent World! Only Reynir would manage to end up there on accident. And even though Bjarni knew he couldn’t be blamed for all of it—he hadn’t told Reynir to hide in a tuna crate, after all—it still felt like his fault.

All their lives, Reynir had looked up to Bjarni. He’d trusted him, no matter how many times Bjarni’s actions had gotten him in trouble. And now Bjarni’s words had put him in the worst trouble of all.

* * *

Through luck or divine intervention, Bjarni found himself on a ship bound for the coast of what used to be Denmark. They were going to pick up a group of explorers on a mission to the Silent World—and one Icelandic stowaway. As they neared their destination, Bjarni ran through what he was going to do when they reached the pickup spot. First, he was going to hug Reynir so tightly he’d squeak. Then he’d thank the crew of explorers for keeping him safe where his own family had failed. And then, he was going to grab Reynir by the braid and haul him back home where he belonged. For once in his life, he’d do something to protect his brother instead of hurting him.

A shout from the deck put an end to his musing. “Battle stations! Beast off the starboard bow!” Bjarni scrambled to his station along with the rest of the crew, but before he could get there a massive blow shook the deck. He lost his footing and slid toward the rail. There was a roar, muffled shouting, and then a flash of light. The ship settled, and the air filled with the stench of burned flesh.

Bjarni heaved himself upright, still unsteady on his feet. “What...what happened?”

One of his crewmates pointed toward the shore. “Looks like their mage took care of it.”

Bjarni’s gaze followed the outstretched arm. There was a sea beast, charred to a crisp and slowly sinking, with the remnant of a rune mapped out on its skin. And beyond it, a small group of figures gathered on the beach. Most of them were just standing, but one—well, if the long red hair hadn’t given it away, the enthusiastic jumping and waving would have. Even from so far away, Reynir was practically glowing. No, wait...he actually  _ was  _ glowing.

“Oh my gods. It’s  _ him!”  _ Bjarni couldn’t have swallowed his grin even if he wanted to. “My baby brother just did that!”

So much for his earlier plan. Bjarni was going to hug Reynir until he squeaked, then demand to know how long he’d been a  _ mage.  _

_ We might always get into trouble together,  _ Bjarni thought, returning Reynir’s wave with equal enthusiasm,  _ but I guess we’re getting pretty good at getting each other out of it, too. _

 


End file.
